Posted by Chris aka Punker on March 09, 2005 at 11:30:57:
In Reply to: I am absolutely fascinated/ saddened by the decline posted by Jim Mann on March 04, 2005 at 16:39:28:
: I am a history major--it saddens me to see this historic place have gotten the wrecking ball--even though it has been almost 20 years ago. I know Detroit was the National HQ up to late 1960's(1968-now Lincoln,NE). I look forward to reading and learning about the rich history Detroit has had in Rollerskating through this website.
: Sadly, The decline of skating across the board--coaches retire/ quit along with many skaters quitting/ leaving the sport. Costs have skyrocketed--fees and lessons along with available rink space/practice time- have had an adverse imapct for newcomers and myself, my daughter. I don't get raises to at my company which allows me to continue to cover the cost increases aforementioned. Rink operators along with coaches need to address this soon. Until this is addressed, the decline will continue...until little is left. This is not ice--we have no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
: My daughter, Lindsay Mann, has been to the World chamionships 5 times, most recently in Fresno, CA in 2004 as the USA Senior Team Ladies singles representative (3rd place at Nationals).
Though the roller rinks have declined, they are still out there. Even though I am old fashion, some of the rinks survive on Roller Bladers.
Roller Skating will never compete with ice skating, as Bowling will never compete with Golf.
I'm glad you enjoyed this site. Tony has put a lot of time and effort into this, and wait for the pics and memories after this coming weekend!